title: Patient satisfaction with services provided by multidisciplinary anticoagulation clinics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess patients' perception of care delivery by anticoagulation clinics (ACs) throughout Alberta, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective postal survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Therapy provision by an AC to ambulatory-based patients for a minimum of 3 months across the province.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1687 patients (67.9%) receiving warfarin therapy from 6 ACs for a minimum of 3 months responded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 25-item survey had responses grouped into domains of patient preference, knowledge, and service delivery. A 5-point Likert scale enabled each response to be assigned a numerical value from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Overall, the mean response for patient satisfaction was 4.54, indicating most patients were satisfied with the AC care they received. Among those who had received care outside of an AC, 70.4% preferred AC care compared with 18.4% for family physician care. Mean responses for knowledge and service delivery exceeded 4.0, demonstrating positive responses in favor of AC care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that most patients were greatly satisfied with AC care and preferred the care received from an AC to that provided by their family physician. Service delivery across Alberta is well perceived by patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Tammy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Bungard
authors.forename: Arden R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brocklebank
mesh_terms: D000416:Alberta / Q000453:epidemiology; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000592:standards; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001777:Blood Coagulation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants
keywords: anticoagulation clinic; multidisciplinary; patient-centered care; satisfaction; warfarin